Balustrade



P. BASTIA Aug. 24, 1965 BALUSTRADE Filed April 1, 1963 INVENTOR.

PAUL BASTIA FIGZ A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,2o2,491 BALUSEEADE Paul Beetle, 3672 Pennsylvania Ave, Weirton, l. Va. Filed l, 1953, er. No. 269,242 1 t'llairn. (Ql. 256-21) The present invention relates to a balustrade, more particularly to an adjustable railing assembly particularly well adapted for use adjacent a ilight of stairs.

It is an ob'ect of the present invention to provide a balustrade that can be readily installed at any desired inclination, or horizontally.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a balustrade that can be readily assembled and disassembled but that has the appearance or" a more permanently constructed assembly.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a balustrade that will be relatively simple and inexensive to manufacture, easy to assemble, disassemble, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a balustrade according to the present invention installed adjacent a flight of stairs;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of FEGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, partly in cross section, of the structure of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 41s a View similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the structure in the position it assumes when the helmtrade is installed on an incline.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown a balustrade indicated generally at 1 installed on an incline adjacent and at the inclination of a flight of stairs 3. The balustrade shown FIGURE 1 is a frag; mentary midsection of a full balustrade and is provided with the usual end supports (not shown). Also, the balustrade as shown in FIGURE 1 has been consolidated ventically to show the parts on the est scale for clear illustration.

Balustrade 1 comprises an upper rail or handrail 5 and a lower rail 7 parallel to handrail 5. A plurality of balus-ters or spindles 9 are disposed vertically and in parallelism to each other and extend between and interconnect rails S and 7. Balustrade it is disposed in a vertical plane and extends parallel to the length of stairs 3.

The invention will be further deso "ibed with reference to the connection between a single spindle 9' and the lower rail 7. It will be understood, however, that what is said of this connection applies equally well to the connection of all the spindles, not only to the lower rail 7 but also to the upper rail 5.

Lower rail 7 is of downwardly opening channel-shaped cross section and includes an upper web 11 and a pair of downwardly depending flanges 13 joined along their upper edges to the outer side edges of web ll. An opening 15 extends through web i l and is spaced inwardly along both of its opposite side edges from flanges 13, so that flanges 13 are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of opening 15. In the illustrated embodirnent, opening 15 has a width closely fitting the end portion of spindle 9 and the opening extends lengthwise of lower rail 7 a distance greater than the width of the opening.

An upstanding ear 17 is provided on web =11 of lower rail 7 and extends upwardly toward handrail 5. Ear d7 has a width equal to the width of opening 15, and this width is several times greater than the thickness of ear dihzfidl Patented Aug. 24-, 1%65 1'7 measured lengthwise of lower rail 7. The height of ear 17 is substantially greater than its width. Bar 17 is disposed adjacent one end of opening 15. In the 111115- trated embodiment, car 17 is Welded in one end of opening 15 :by means of welds -19 that position the lower end of ear l7 flush with the underside of web El and that hold ear 17' in a plane perpendicular to the plane of web ill. Of course, car '17 can be formed in a variety of other ways, as for example by punching out and bending up the material of W61) .11 so as to form opening 15 and ear 17 in a single operation, among other ways.

Spindle 9 has a pair of opposite end portions '21. 'In FEGURES 2-4, one of these end portions is shown secured to ear $7 with ear l7 and end portion 2d overlying each other in a direction lengthwise of lower rail 7. This means that passing lengthwise along rail 7, first one and then the other of ear 17 and end portion 21 is encountered. End portion 21 and the upper or outer end of eat 17 are provided with alignable holes 23 theret'hrough that extend generally lengthwise of lower rail '7. Nut and bolt assemblies 25 extend through aligna-ble holes 213 and releasably but firmly secure ear Fl and end portion 21 together in the assembled relationship shown in the drawing. When car 17 is perpendicular to web ll l, as in FIG- URES 2 and 3, nut and bolt assemblies 25 are parallel to lower rail 7. In any event, the axes of nut and bolt assemblies 25 are disposed in the same vertical plane as lower rail 7.

A number of relationships of the parts to each other are especially to be noted. The width of ear l7 being substantially greater than its thickness, ear 1.7 is substantially more pliable or bendable in the plane of the balustrade than in any other plane. At the same time, ear 17 is substantially more pliable than end portion 21 of spindle so that car 17 bends instead of spindle 9. End portion 21 extends into opening 15 a substantial distance, .but the thickness of lower rail 7 in the plane of the b'alustrade, that is, the height of lower rail 7 as seen in FIGURE 3, is at least as great as that substantial distance and preferably substantially greater. The end of opening 15 opposite ear 17 is spaced a substantial distance from end portion 2); of spindle i The significance of all the features described above will be apparent :as the description of the mode of assembly and utilization of the balustrade of the present invention proceeds, as follows:-

To assemble the balustrade, a plurality of spindles 9 are arranged with their end portions 21 extending into the openings 15' of spaced parallel rails 55' and 7 and with their alignable holes 233 aligned with the holes 23 through ears '17. As the cars 17 in this initial condition of the parts are perpendicular to the webs ll of their rails 5 or 7, the rails 5 and 7 will be parallel to each other and the spindles 9 will be parallel to each other and perpendicular to rails 5 and 7. Nut and bolt assemblies 25 are then inserted through the pairs of alignable holes 23 and tightened, so that a fairly rigid .balustrade is formed that is suitable for use as a horizontal railing.

To adapt the balustrade for use as an inclined railing, however, it is necessary only to rack it into the configuration shown in FIGURE 1, by pushing rails 5 and 7 lengthwise in opposite directions, until the acute angles formed between the balusters and the rails are equal to the desired angle of inclination of the railing. The balustrade performs as a parallelogram linkage during this racking movement, so that spindles 9 remain parallel to each other and rails 5 and 7 remain parallel to each other. Something must give, however, and it is the ears 17 that accommodate thi racking movement by bending relative to webs ill, for ears 17 are more pliable than spindles 9 or their associated webs ll. This bending movement and the resultant change in the relacan rack in its own plane but m ne other.

tive position of the parts may best'be seen'by comparison of FIGURES 3 and 4. It will be understood that turns relative tohandrail 5, To accommodate the end of nut and bolt assembly 25, the positions of ears 17 on rail 5 are opposite those on rail 5, with the result that when the balustrade is inclined, end portion 21 will always form an'acute angle with the rail 5 or 7 on the side of end portion 21 opposite ear 1'7. 7 I

It will be appreciated, therefore, that the balustrade It will also be appreciated that the spacing of the end of opening 15 opposite ear 17 a distance from end portion 21 permits this racking movement, as is seen by comparison of FIG- URES 3 and 4. Moreover, the extension of end portion 21 a distance into opening 15 makes it appear that the =balustrade is more permanently assembled than it is. At

the same time, the termination of end portion 21 a distance above the lower edge of lo wer rail 7 as seen in .FIGURE 3 (and a distance below the upper edge of handrail 5 as well although not shown) assures that end portion 21 will not extend beyond its associated rail when the parts assume the position of FIGURE 4. Finally, the securement of the ends of rails Sand 7 to appropriately anchored upright stanchions or end' posts 1(not shown) will assure that once the balustrade has been bent to the desired inclination it cannot further bend,

for the position of the ends of the parallelogram linkage will thereby be fixed against further movement relative to each other.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure,

.therefore, it will be evident that all of the initially re- ,cited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood thattmodifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. sidered to be within the purview and scope of the present Such modifications and variations are conin the rails receiving the end portions closely the corresponding thickness dimension of the end portion of the spindle received in the openmg, a pliable member carried by each rail at one end of each opening in the rail, each pliable member having a width dimension greater than the thickness dimension of the pliable member, the pliable members being arranged with their Width dimension at right angles to the plane of the rails and being located at the same end in one direction of all openings in the lower rail and at the same end in the other direction of all openings in the upper rail, the length dimension of the pliable members being normal to the rails with the pliable members of each rail projecting toward each other, a face on each pliable member opposed and contiguous to a face on each spindle, removable fastening means passing through the opposed taces of each pliable member and spindle at a point spaced from and between the rails and connecting the pliable member and the spindle in rigid relation to each other with the end of the spindle located at the end of the associated opening in therailcontiguous to the associated pliable member thereby leaving the other end of the opening unoccupied, the rails and the spindles being relatively resistant to bending 'so that on racking the halustrade by moving the lower rail in the one direction and the upper rail in the other direction, the rail and spindles will retain their shape but the pliant members will bend, the location of the fastening means, the shape of the pliable members and the width of the openings acting to constrain the spindles to move in the plane of the rails, whereby the balustrade will remain in parallelogram shape with the end portions of the spindles remaining in the associated openings and moving toward the unoccupied ends of the associated openings.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Cusack 256-22 HARRISON R; MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. BENJAMIN BENDETT,Examiner. 

